Bill Text: NJ A5088 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Directs DOT to establish program for construction of wildlife crossings on certain roads and highways.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-01-23 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee [A5088 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A5088-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman REGINALD W. ATKINS
District 20 (Union)
Assemblyman STERLEY S. STANLEY
District 18 (Middlesex)
Assemblywoman SHAMA A. HAIDER
District 37 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
Requires DOT to establish program for construction of wildlife crossings on certain roads and highways.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the traversal by wildlife of roads and highways and supplementing P.L.1966, c.301 (C.27:1A-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
"Department" means the Department of Transportation.
"Wildlife crossing" means a tunnel, culvert, underpass, overpass, bridge, or elevated highway segment, as well as any accompanying directional fencing or barrier, which is designed to improve the ability of wildlife to safely traverse transportation infrastructure.
b. No later than 12 months after the effective date of this section, the department shall establish a program for the construction of wildlife crossings on public roads and highways in the State. As part of the program, the department shall establish a priority list of wildlife crossing projects. The list shall prioritize road and highway segments that (1) have a high incidence of motor vehicle accidents involving wildlife; or (2) fragment the habitat of terrestrial animal species, with the highest priority given to threatened or endangered species. When establishing the list, the department shall utilize the information and tools developed by the "Connecting Habitat Across New Jersey" project in the Division of Fish of Wildlife in the Department of Environmental Protection. The department shall publish and maintain this list on its Internet website, and shall update the list periodically and indicate the projects that have been completed.
c. No later than 24 months after the effective date of this section, the department shall initiate, or cause to be initiated, the construction of one or more wildlife crossing projects on the priority list established pursuant to subsection b. of this section. The department shall continue constructing wildlife crossings until all projects on the priority list have been completed.
d. As part of the program established pursuant to subsection b. of this section, the department shall install cameras or other means of collecting data on the number of animals using wildlife crossings at appropriate locations in the State. The department shall utilize this data to periodically update the priority list developed pursuant to subsection b. of this section.
e. No later than 12 months after the effective date of this section, the department shall apply to the federal government for grants or other funding to implement the program established pursuant to this section, including grants for projects made available pursuant to section 11123 of the federal "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act," Pub.L. 117-58.
f. Commencing in the fiscal year next following the effective date of this section, the department shall include a request for sufficient annual funding for the program in its budgetary request to the Governor.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would direct the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish a program for the construction of wildlife crossings of roads and highways in the State.
As part of the program, the bill would require the DOT to establish, and publish on its website no later than 12 months after the bill's enactment, a priority list of wildlife crossing projects. The list would give priority to projects on road segments that either (1) have a high incidence of motor vehicle accidents involving wildlife, or (2) fragment the habitat of terrestrial animal species, especially threatened or endangered species. The bill would require the DOT to begin construction (or cause construction to begin) on one or more projects on the list no later than 24 months after the bill's enactment. The bill would direct the DOT to continue constructing the projects until every project on the priority list is completed.
The bill would also require the DOT to seek federal funding for the program. The federal "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act," Pub.L. 117-58, enacted in November 2021, includes a dedicated line of funding to provide grants to state highway agencies for projects that seek to achieve "a reduction in the number of wildlife-vehicle collisions" and "improved habitat connectivity for terrestrial and aquatic species." The bill would also direct the DOT to request annual funding sufficient to implement the program, beginning in the fiscal year next following the bill's enactment.
New Jersey motorists are involved in thousands of collisions with wildlife each year, which can result in injuries or deaths to motorists as well as animals. According to National Geographic, there are more than a million automobile accidents per year involving wildlife in the United States, leading to more than $8 billion in medical and vehicle repair costs. New Jersey's share of this cost is likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Wildlife crossings--bridges, overpasses, tunnels, viaducts, and culverts specifically designed for animals to allow them to safely cross roadways--can reduce the number of these collisions. For example, one study conducted by the Nevada Department of Transportation estimated that a wildlife crossing installed at a known hotspot for deer had a cost-benefit ratio of 1.58, meaning that, for every $1.00 spent on the project, $1.58 of benefits would accrue to residents, in the form of avoided medical, repair, and enforcement costs.
